A late-night fire, likely sparked by fireworks, triggered the evacuation of dozens of Centerville homes and the cancellation of Independence Day events in the Davis County city.
Fire crews, police and search and rescue teams descended on the area shortly after the blaze was reported around 11 p.m. Sunday night, according to Facebook posts from the Centerville Police Department.
Police said 89 homes were evacuated in Centerville and, for a time, homes north of Parrish Lane and east of 600 East were told to be ready to evacuate, according to an emergency update from Centerville.
After hours of work, the city announced Monday around 6 a.m. on Facebook that the evacuation order was lifted, allowing residents to return to their homes.
The city announced that Mayor Clark Wilkinson canceled the Centerville parade and a 5K run, citing the fire’s impact to the parade and race routes. The city also said public safety resources would not be available to allow the events to take place due to the fire.
“This fire had us worried due to the wind speed and direction during the early morning hours, fortunately the wind shifted moving the fire away from homes instead of towards them,” read one Facebook post from the Centerville Police Department.
Police tweeted early Monday morning the fire probably was human-caused and that fireworks were the most likely source.
“We will be working with fire investigators,” police said, “to determine the cause.”
The blaze had consumed 128 acres by Monday afternoon, according to Utah Fire Info’s website, and was 0% contained. The fire remained active between Deuel Creek and Parrish Creek, and the area was closed to the public.
As of Monday morning, the Facebook posts indicated that no structures were damaged by the blaze as the flames stayed in areas above Firebreak Road, which runs parallel to the mountains.
